Atlanta!
by Kitty Cat O'Hara
Summary: Scarlett's ready and on the train for Atlanta for the first time. What happens on that ride that will change her life?


**Here's the first one. It takes place at the train ride to Atlanta the first time Scarlett goes. I hope you like it. Review and you will receive!**

Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton stood at the depot in Jonesboro, waiting for the train to come and sweep her, her child, and her maid to the world of Atlanta.

She had been there before with her pa. He had told her that she and Atlanta had been christened the same year. That had given her a connection to the growing city.

The black engine pulled into the station. "Come on, Prissy," she told the black girl, "I want to get on as soon as the doors open."

Prissy held little Wade close to her and nodded, "Yes'm."

The door opened slowly, as if the air had turned to molasses and they were trying to push through it. Scarlett raised her black hoops slightly and set off for the doors, her maid lagging behind.

She found a seat wide enough for the two to sit and in the dark and privacy enough to allow her to feed her child if she had to. She hadn't planned on it but she knew the train could be stopped or delayed easily, with the war going on.

The war! Those stupid pigheads with their swaggering and boasting! If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be in this awful mess!

She moved her skirts a bit, making a rustling sound. "Give me Wade," she told Prissy. The girl handed Scarlett her son and sat in the far corner of the seat. "You don't have to be afraid of me."

Wade kept a standard stream of hiccoughs and she soon grew tired of holding the boy. She sighed and looked out the window at the passing countryside. She saw the red fields of Georgia fly by her and the lush green surround the beautiful plantation houses.

Why was this happening to her? She was Scarlett O'Hara, daughter of Ellen Robillard and Gerald O'Hara, the belle of Clayton County! Every other boy wished to get a glance, a dance, a kiss, even an honest consideration over a marriage proposal. She should have gotten any man she wanted but she acted to quickly and married one she despised. She could have married anyone and she married Charles Hamilton.

She could have taken the lead in a marriage; she could have bullied and pushed Charles any way she pleased. He thought he was in love with her and he had even said he would do anything for her. She could have but she didn't and she was stuck with Wade Hampton.

If the war hadn't come, it might have been better, it might have been worse. Charles wouldn't have died so she wouldn't have to wear awful black and pretend her heart was in the grave. Her heart was anywhere but the grave. If she had her choice, she would be out on the floor, unmarried and without a child, not having a care in the world. Her biggest problems being the fact that she couldn't get new slippers and she didn't know what dress to wear or how to wear her hair for the next ball.

She thought, as she looked out the window, about what could possibly happen in Atlanta. She was going to stay with Melanie, now her sister-in-law, and her Aunt Pittypat. She had seen and met Pittypat Hamilton before and knew she was a silly old thing that would faint at the sight of a field mouse. She was a city soul who would never survive in the outdoors-ness of a plantation life, the life Scarlett personally loved.

Scarlett felt the train stop suddenly and she focused on what was outside the window. This wasn't Atlanta, what was going on? She handed the child to Prissy and picked up her skirts to allow herself to stand up. She walked through the masses of people, children crowded around another child with a new toy, old women hunched together, gossiping and sewing quickly.

She stood at the front of the car and let her skirts drop. She felt the train start suddenly and violently. She clutched a pole before falling over onto the man in the seat beside the pole.

After the train continued moving at a normal speed, she walked back to the maid and Wade. She could hear his screams before she could see Prissy and Wade.

Wade's head was tilted back, tears falling down his cheeks. His mouth was open, screaming at the top of the small boy's lungs. Prissy's face was tear stained, "I's sorry, Miss Scarlett. He just don stop cryin', I's tryin' and tryin'…"

"Great balls of fire!" she yelled, "I leave you alone with him for a moment and he starts to cry! Great balls of fire, what did you do?"

"Nothin'!" she black face was screwed up in tears.

"God's nightgown!" she said, using her father's favorite expression. "Give him to me." She took the baby from Prissy's arms and sat on the seat as she was before the stop. Wade's mouth closed and he coo-ed slightly. Scarlett sighed.

She took her pale fingers and wiped away the tearstains on his face that was turning back to its original color.

She looked at her boy carefully, this time trying not to think about how much he looked like Charles. His honey brown hair was a shade darker then Charles's and his skin was much paler. It was almost the Southern belle shade of Scarlett's. Her skin now looked paler than it ever had because of the dark cloth dresses she wore.

His eyes were darker and more of a chocolate color. She extended her pointer finger and Wade clutched it with his small white hand. One day, she silently promised him, I'll make this up to you. Pa'll let me have Tara, and then it will be yours and I promise one day I'll make up for being an awful mother. I promise you Wade Hampton Hamilton.

She looked away from her son and out the window again. She was pulling into the Atlanta station. "Come, Prissy," she looked out the window hopefully, "We're here. We're in Atlanta!"


End file.
